


i've got those shotgun blues, and tonight i'm getting high off of you

by handgrenadeheathen



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: M/M, i lost progress twice okay and i jsut, josh is 17 and tyler is 16, josh?? is a stoner, just enjoy the gay angst free teenage joshler ok goodBYE, stoner au, this caused so much frustration, this went by so fast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 21:55:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7332007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/handgrenadeheathen/pseuds/handgrenadeheathen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Money can't buy love, but it can buy weed, and that's the beginning of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i've got those shotgun blues, and tonight i'm getting high off of you

In Josh's opinion, the best time to get high is midnight.

His friends have taken him along and gotten him high at every hour of day, and he's had a good time, but it all didn't feel right. He thinks it's the way the sun looks at him, burning down with disapproval, watching every hit he takes, every error. Every cough, every sputter, watching his personality change as fast as the whites of his eyes changed color. In daylight, he feels exposed. He feels harassed.

Sitting on his lawn, the dew slowly soaking into his jeans as he watched the burning red embers creep up the length of his blunt while the moon embraces him and tells him it's okay, the night sky cooling his skin with starlight kisses? That's the best time to get high. The dark was his friend, and the moon was his lover. 

He inhales slowly, letting the smoke burn the back of his throat and he sort of feels like he's floating when he blows it out between his teeth, watching it melt into the summer air illuminated by the fluorescent light of the streetlamp down the road. His eyes close as he takes another hit. All he focuses on is in, hold, out. Ghost. 

When he's high, he thinks about a lot of things. Right now, he’s thinking about his parent's liquor back inside the house, and then he's thinking about the party that had taken place two weeks back and watching Ryan Ross attempt a strikeout because his coked-out boyfriend Brendon told him to, and then failing because he choked. It was funny, probably embarrassing on Ryan's part if he were sober, and Josh wonders if he could try that. He decides that yes, totally, he could, but before he can gather up the motivation to get up and go in, his phone is buzzing beside him. 

He knows it's Tyler before he fully registers the vibration against his thigh. He jolts, blinking rapidly, and then he drops the blunt in the wet grass, stupid, stupid, but Tyler never calls this late unless it's important. He accepts the call and holds the phone to his ear.

"I'm so sorry," Tyler chokes before Josh can say anything. "It's so late, and, and I know you need to get up early tomorrow, but I need, I-I need someone right now a-and-- I need to come over, I-I--" A sob cuts him off. "I'm so sorry, p-please, I just--"

Josh hushes him as the other boy breaks off into a coughing fit, sweet words cracking through the receiver as he tells him that he'll be waiting outside and Tyler's sobs falter, sniffling and mentioning he'd be there soon. 

Josh knows exactly how to help.

|-/

Fifteen minutes later and he sees Tyler's tiny form walking around the corner, almost drowning in an oversized sweatshirt: Josh's sweatshirt. He can keep it, it looks good on him. 

He stays on the ground until Tyler is near enough, and then he gets up and opens the gate for him, wrapping him in a hug and holding him for a few minutes. Tyler hadn't been crying when he'd been walking down the street, but once he comes into contact with his friend, he breaks down again and Josh only has so much strength, plus the added emotion of his fading high, before he starts crying too.

"Are you okay?" Josh asks when they can talk again. Tyler pulls away, and keeps his head lowered. He takes a deep breath and tries to keep himself from slipping back into tears again.

"I am now." He says, and his voice is so tiny and insignificant. Josh feels his heart ache.

He clears his throat and shoves his hands into his pockets. "Was Blurry acting up again?" 

Tyler bites his lip and nods. They stand still for a while.

"Okay... Come with me."

They're both silent when they head back to the house, Josh faintly remembering the blunt that lay forgotten in the grass, but then he decides that it's extinguished and Tyler matters more than anything in the world. Tyler matters more than the moon.

He takes him up to his bedroom, not bothering to flick on the light and walking over to his dresser as Tyler takes his seat on his bed. He watches as Tyler's reflection combs his fingers through his hair and wipes away drying tears, trying to get himself decent. Josh takes the paper and grinder out of his drawer and laughs softly. "You look fine, Ty. It's okay."

The older boy meets Josh's eyes in the mirror as his hands drop to his lap, and then he cocks his head as he watches Josh working in silence while Tyler scrutinizes his movements. He tried to figure out what he's doing and what exactly that is, and then his eyes widen and he looks back up to his friend's face.

"Josh, are you high?" He asks just as he turns around with a joint in hand and a lighter in the other. He shakes his head.

"I was," He says when he takes his spot next to Tyler, but a little farther away than normal. He wouldn't have done this if he was sober, but the final edges of his recent high aren't completely worn off, and he still worries what the brunet's reaction is going to be.

Tyler watches as he balances the joint between his lips and lights up, sucking in and letting the smoke drift out through his open mouth. Josh risks a glance towards Tyler; he's relieved to see he's more confused than anything. He wonders if Josh is going to do what Tyler thinks he's going to do, and his suspicions are confirmed as the joint is offered to him.

He feels like a deer caught in the headlights, faced with running back to the forest or running out in front of the car. He shakes his head. "Josh, I-I don't-- if my parents find out--" 

"They won't." Josh assures. "They trust me. The high will be gone by morning, I just thought it might take your mind off of things. You don't have to if you don't want to."

They sit without talking for a moment, both well aware of the joint burning away between Josh's fingers, and then Tyler breathes out and takes it from him. His hands shake; he's never even smoked a cigarette, he doesn't even know how to do this, just inhale? 

"Just inhale." Josh confirms, as if he can read Tyler's mind. He's good at that, Tyler realizes, as he raises it to his lips and- oh, fuck.

He chokes, tears springing to his eyes as he sputters and Josh takes the joint from him, rubbing his back. It doesn't help, but it's comforting and a little humiliating.

As Tyler's coughs die down, Josh muses at him fondly. "Just not that quickly." he says, and Tyler cracks a smile and watches as Josh takes a hit, wondering how he does it so smoothly. It burns the back of his throat and it tasted horrible, and Josh just goes with it, inhaling and exhaling like it's just like breathing. 

"Do you want to try again?" he asks after he takes another, and he hasn't finished exhaling so the smoke blows out onto Tyler's face. He's holding it out to him again and Tyler is surprised he takes it.

"Okay, so, inhale, just like breathing, but not too quickly and not so deep. Start small and not too many hits one after another or you'll get a headache, alright? Be careful and don't burn your fingers. You can give it back any time if you don't want to do it anymore." He stands up and goes back over to the dresser, focusing on rolling another. 

While Josh isn't looking and Tyler doesn't have to embarrass himself directly in front of him, he tries another and this time it goes somewhat smoothly. When he exhales, it blows out in a straight line. It still burns, and it's not enjoyable, but he's proud of himself for getting it right.

Josh glances up into the mirror to watch Tyler take another hit, coughing lightly, and then watches the smoke curl out into the air through the gap between his red lips. He smiles. 

"Good job." he says once he's finished rolling his joint, reclaiming his spot and lighting up. Tyler snickers.

"I feel like a kindergartener getting a good grade on a test." he replies, and Josh's laugh comes out as a bark. 

They slip into a comfortable silence, broken occasionally by Tyler's coughs and Josh's hums of laughter. Tyler's joint goes by quickly, so the older boy hands him his own to finish, and then finds himself leaning over under his bed so he can take a blunt out of a shoebox. He lights the end up, and then they sit, thigh-to-thigh, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. 

"You were right," Tyler mumbles. His second joint is gone and he's pretty high, his head in Josh's lap with his eyes closed. "It did take my mind off of things. Thank you."

"Anytime, baby boy." Josh murmurs, taking a long drag off of his blunt, blows a smoke ring, and then flicks the ash onto the floor. "Wanna try something?"

Tyler mumbles incoherently in a reply, cracking an eye open to look up at him. His expression shows interest.

"Let's play shotgun." Josh continues. "It's when you take a hit and pass the smoke to someone else."

Tyler thinks for a moment, and then he grins and nods, looking at Josh through unfocused, half-lidded eyes. Josh wonders what he's thinking about when they shift to sit across from each other, if he's even thinking at all. When Josh gets high, he gets all poetic and thoughtful. Tyler seems the opposite, totally spaced-out, in his zone, out of his mind. Josh wishes he could be like that.

They get situated, Tyler on his knees and Josh sitting opposite him indian-style, inching forward until they're touching. Tyler smiles lazily at the other boy as he takes a toke, and leans up to meet his lips without a second thought.

Tyler inhales as soon as Josh opens his mouth, but it goes down the wrong way and he has to hold down the cough bubbling up from his throat, and then lets it go when Josh pulls away. They both laugh, and Tyler realizes he's missed that smile where Josh shows all of his teeth and his eyes crinkle up at the corners. It just makes him grin wider and punch him in the arm.

Josh takes another drag, and Tyler connects their lips again, deciding that this time it would go smoothly, and it does. The smoke goes down alright, burning no less and still tastes horrible, but Josh doesn't have to pull away for Tyler to cough. The younger of the two feels proud again.

The room is hazy, Tyler is dizzy, both of them feel like they're on Cloud Nine. Blurry is quiet for once, and all Tyler can think about is how Josh looks so amazing, all curly brown hair and dark eyes, and the younger boy can feel his lip ring against his mouth. 

Neither of them are sure when Josh puts down the blunt, or when they stop shotgunning and start making out, or when Tyler moves Josh back to straddle his lap, or when everything starts becoming out of focus and bleary except for the teenager underneath him. Neither of them know when Josh's hands find Tyler's hips, or when they start panting into each other's mouths because they can't breathe but don't want to pull away, or when reality starts to blend together and they don't know if they're passed out or conscious, but they make the most of it.

When they finally do break apart, gasping in breaths of air that are only getting them higher, foreheads resting on each other's, they can't help but laugh. 

"I've liked you for a really long time," Josh murmurs after a minute, "And now I wish you were drunk so you wouldn't remember this tomorrow, but you will, and I'm stoned and not thinking correctly and I'm gonna regret it. But, yeah, that's the truth. I've had a big giant crush on my best friend for two years. How do you feel?" 

Tyler stays silent for a couple of long moments, and Josh is starting to fidget underneath him when he scans Tyler's glassy eyes and finds no emotion. He's starting to think this was a horrible idea when he's surprised with another kiss, and another, and another, until Josh is absolutely breathless. 

"Oh. That's how you feel then?" He laughs nervously after he can talk again, and Tyler presses one final kiss to the corner of his mouth. 

"Yeah. And that's me talking, not the weed." 

Josh smiles. "I believe you."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay."

The blunt smokes itself away in the ashtray, forgotten and remaining untouched for the rest of the night, because Josh has found a different drug, and this one he can definitely get addicted to.

**Author's Note:**

> fuck  
> thanks for reading i guess? ive only been high 4 times with differing reactions and i still dont know how it all works so there are probably mistakes sorry for that lmao  
> follow me on ig! @handgrenadeheathen  
> also follow @whereisyourmeme  
> have fun u filthy animals ily also tell me how this fic was im not feeling it u know?? but if u are leave kudos!! :-) :-0 |-/


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